1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming system that includes a device mounted with a plurality of components, and a lifetime management device that calculates and manages information on service life of the components.
2. Description of the Related Art
When a failure occurs in a part of various types of devices, depending on the type of the part, the device cannot be used until the part is replaced by a new one, and this imposes inconvenience on a user.
On the other hand, there have been lifetime management devices, which calculate remaining lifetime of parts mounted on a device based on operation record of the device or the parts, and issue a request for replacement of the parts based on the calculation result. An image forming system disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2003-76223 includes this type of lifetime management device, which measures as operation record the amount of operation by a printing mechanism of a device or an image forming apparatus. The conventional lifetime management device then calculates remaining lifetime of a photoconductor, a part of the image forming apparatus, based on the measurement result, and requests replacement of the part based on the calculation result. In response to the request, a replacement worker, such as a service person, is sent to replace the part before a failure occurs, which reduces the downtime of the device.
In the conventional technology, however, maintenance is not always effectively planned. That is, when a replacement request is issued for a certain part of a device, a determination on presence or absence of the replacement request may be made by a user with a determining unit mounted on the device, or by a maintenance service agency with a determining unit connected to the device via a communication line. In the former case, the replacement request is reported to the maintenance service agency by a telephone call from the user or a replacement request signal received from the device via the communication line. In response to the replacement request, the maintenance service agency dispatches a replacement worker to the user to replace the part. Thus, downtime of the device can be prevented. However, there can be a case that, although one part has been replaced, a replacement request for another part can be issued a few days later. In such a case, a replacement worker is dispatched repeatedly to the same user in a short period of time.